The present invention relates, in general, to a safety arrangement for motor vehicles.
Side airbag systems arranged in the area of the roof frame of a motor vehicle are activated to protect passengers from crashing against the vehicle door or the roof frame in the event of a side impact collision or rollover. Conventional side airbag systems are typically installed as a complete module. Supply of pressure gas to the side airbag module from a pressure gas source is realized through incorporation of lance-like fill pipes, which connect the pressure gas source with the airbag module. The pressure gas source is normally a gas cartridge, which oftentimes is disposed in the area of the “A” or windshield pillar. On occasions, the gas cartridge may also be arranged in other parts of the vehicle, for example, underneath the “C” or rear pillar in the trunk, as described, for example, in German patent publication DE 197 58 024 A1.
Conventional side airbag systems suffer shortcomings because of the need for additional installation space to accommodate the fill pipes in the roof frame, and the added vehicle weight which increases with increasing length of the fill pipes, so that the fuel consumption is adversely affected.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved safety arrangement for motor vehicles to obviate prior art shortcomings and to configure the fluid connection between airbag and remote pressure gas source in a way as to save installation space and weight.